The excerpt below is from the Conversation Guide at the back of The Ones Who Matter Most. Question: What might surprise a reader of The Ones Who Matter Most? Author Rachael Herron answers: Writing the scene in which Abby is scrabbling through the rolltop desk’s drawers was a special treat. Writers are incorrigible thieves, stealing bits and pieces of their lives to provide sparkle and heft. We can’t help populating our books with parts of ourselves. I share Abby’s optimistic naiveté as much as I do Fern’s ruthless practicality. But beyond the stolen personality pieces, we steal actual objects. That’s my desk in Scott’s office. As Abby explores the many small drawers, Abby wonders why they aren’t being made useful. They could hold hair bands and gum and those wonderful yellow Paper Mate pencils. In my office, those drawers do hold those things. Found in an antiques store in a…
Category: Quotes
The First Poem — Lucille Clifton
“Poetry began when somebody walked off a savannah or out of a cave and looked up at the sky with wonder and said, ‘Ah-h-h!’ That was the first poem.” — Lucille Clifton Photo by Colby Drake
The why must never be obvious.
“Ah, but my dear sir, the why must never be obvious. That is the whole point.” ― Agatha Christie, Five Little Pigs
A fresh start.
The following excerpt is from Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change. What are your hopes for the future as you reflect on the years that have passed? Gradually, as you become curator of your own contentment, you will learn to embrace the gentle yearnings of your heart. But this year instead of resolutions, write down your most private aspirations. Those longings you have kept tucked away until the time seems right. Trust that now is the time. . . Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by…
Missed my deadline
Missing a deadline . . . Not a good thing, right? One might agonize about missing a deadline to the point of being incapacitated. Not my author friend, Sandy Baker. Sandy recently sent an email with updates about all her books. She had high hopes of Adventures Of The Hotel Sisters being published in time for Christmas presents. When that didn’t happen, she simply said, “Missed my deadline! Hotel Sisters is going to be late–always good for a New Year’s, after-the-holidays late gift!” I love her easy-breezy attitude. It’s good to know what you can and what you can’t do . . . What you have control over and what you have no or little control over. And if you make a mistake, take ownership. You don’t have to be dramatic nor overly explanatory, just a simple statement of facts. I missed my deadline. And then get on with the…
“I’ve only regretted stuff I’ve left in . . . ” —Jojo Moyes
Jojo Moyes discusses her writing process with Jessica Strawser in the January 2016 issue of the Writer’s Digest magazine. “Frequently I will write chapters that I end up having to ditch. And they might be beautifully crafted, they might contain things I’m really proud of, but you have to be ruthless. There comes a point when you know in your gut something just isn’t working, or isn’t as good as it should be. What I’ve found over the years is that I’ve never regretted anything I’ve ditched—I’ve only regretted stuff I’ve left in.” The January 2016 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine is loaded with fantastic information for writers. Buy it now, because if you wait. . . you know how it goes. . . you’ll forget, or it will be off the newsstands. Or. . . aha! Lightbulb moment. . . Subscribe! I have been a subscriber for years and…
“Challenges always present themselves . . . “
“Challenges always present themselves in any creative undertaking, but you’ll never get far if you let doubt rule you.” Susan Bono author of What Have We Here: Essays about Keeping House and Finding Home.
No one can tell the stories that you have to tell.
“No one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.” —Charles de Lint
Good writing comes from your willingness to be vulnerable . . .
“Good writing comes from your willingness to be vulnerable, to peel back the layers of resistance, to offer up your heart, pulsing and defenseless, on a silver platter.” – Susan Bono, author of What Have We Here.
Writing is an exploration.
Quote by E. L. Doctorow “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.”